KANGERLUSSUAQ (Reuters) - For the first time in recent history, Danish conscripts have been deployed to Greenland, as Denmark moves to bolster its presence in the Arctic after U.S. demands to acquire the territory. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish island, citing national security concerns and accusing Copenhagen of neglecting Arctic defense. Denmark and Greenland have firmly rejected the idea. The conscripts are part of the first cohort under Denmark’s new extended conscription program, aimed at producing soldiers able to operate in one of the kingdom’s most strategically important and challenging regions.

 

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BEIJING (AP) - The Chinese government is pressing for answers after a Chinese man died hours after being taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a U.S. territory. Lianyong Wei, 51, died Aug. 23 at a hospital in the Northern Mariana Islands, ICE announced in a news release Tuesday. Wei was arrested Aug. 21 by the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Public Safety on criminal charges stemming from an alleged assault on a family of five at their home, according to ICE. He was taken into ICE custody the next day pending removal proceedings. ICE said a guard at the lockup in Saipan found Wei unresponsive during routine morning checks on Aug. 23. He was taken to a hospital emergency room, where he was pronounced dead after “life-sustaining interventions were initiated,” the agency said, noting that the cause of his death is under investigation.

 

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BEIJING (AFP) -The death toll from last week’s devastating flash floods and mudslides on the China-Nepal border has climbed to 1,130, with nearly 4,500 missing, the latest official data showed on Wednesday. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, 1,114 bodies have been recovered in Nepal since massive flash floods hit the Himalayan country on Aug. 26, while 292 people were injured and 3,916 remained missing. Authorities said that around 12,000 people have been rescued from the flood-hit areas, whereas more than 21,000 security personnel, including army and police, have been mobilized to assist the ongoing search and rescue operations. Around 1.6 million people have been affected in Nepal by flash floods, they added.

 

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BERLIN (Anadolu) - At least two people sustained minor injuries in an explosion at a train station in the southern German city of Augsburg, police reported Wednesday. The station building and Track 1 are currently closed, a police spokesperson told daily Bild Wednesday morning. Train service is disrupted and is being rerouted to the other tracks. Window panes were also damaged by the explosion. Explosives experts from the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office are on the scene, according to police. The cause of the explosion is still unknown.Public transportation around the train station building has also been affected. Police are also investigating suspected sabotage at an Amprion power substation in Bergheim, in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, public broadcaster WDR reported.

 

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PARIS (AP) - The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed 3,007 people out of 6,186 confirmed cases (people), according to Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, director of the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in a statement released Wednesday. Dr. Muyembe said, “The disease is spreading at an unprecedented rate, outpacing our efforts to track and contain it.” According to Dr. Muyembe, the outbreak has resulted in 6,186 confirmed cases (people) and 3,007 deaths (people) since it was declared in mid-May. Dr. Muyembe added, “This is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak ever recorded.” The World Health Organization (WHO) has corroborated these figures and described the situation as requiring urgent international attention.

 

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ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Two Turkish-flagged commercial vessels collided off Istanbul in the Sea of Marmara on Wednesday and one of the ships, which had 10 crew on board, is believed to have sunk, the Istanbul governor’s office and Turkish maritime affairs authority said. The Alsu, en route to the Aegean port of Aliaga, and Tugberk Imamoglu, en route to the Black Sea port of Karadenizeregli, collided off the Silivri district of Istanbul at around 3 a.m. (0000 GMT), the Istanbul governor’s office said in a statement. Coastguard ships and helicopters were sent to the scene for search and rescue, and there was no visible damage on the Alsu, the statement said. Authorities were unable to establish contact with the Tugberk Imamoglu and its 10 crew members.